Nasdaq chief's large package shrinks after terrible Facebook blow

Nasdaq OMX has brutally slashed its chief's 2012 bonus by over half a million dollars because of the Facebook IPOcalypse.

The market said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Robert Greifeld's bonus for last year would be shaved by 62 per cent, although naturally that still leaves him with a not-inconsiderable sum of $1.35m of extra dosh on top of his $1m base salary.

Nasdaq's e-veep of global technology solutions, Anna Ewing, also lost out after technical glitches mucked up the first day of trading for the much-anticipated social network's shares and forced the firm to promise $62m in compensation to brokers.

"The management compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, reduce some or all of the amount that would otherwise be payable with respect to an award," Nasdaq said in the filing.

"For 2012, the committee and board reduced Mr. Greifeld’s ECIP payout by $542,100 and Ms. Ewing’s ECIP payout by $263,625. The committee and board explicitly considered the Facebook IPO in connection with their review and determination of these reduced payouts."

The 53 per cent cut in Ewing's bonus left her with a $574,125 bonus for the year, while chief financial officer Lee Shavel's bonus dropped 32 per cent and e-veep of transaction services Eric Noll's bonus fell by 47 per cent. The only exec who received a bump in their pay packet was Hans-Ole Jochumsen, head of Nasdaq OMX Nordic, whose bonus rose by four per cent.

Facebook's market debut on 18 May last year was delayed by over half an hour and when it did get going, the exchange's back-up systems delayed orders and order confirmations, leaving investors unsure how much stock they held or for what price they had eventually bought or sold it.

Losses for brokers and traders from the botched IPO are estimated at around $500m, though Nasdaq has an approved pot of just $62m in compensation to hand out. ®